Story Highlights

A drop in retail spending last month stemming from fewer auto sales can be largely blamed on timing, though Americans upped their spending on most other goods.

The Commerce Department says retail sales dipped 0.1% in September, the weakest showing since March. Auto sales fell 2.2%, the largest decline since October 2012. But the drop was largely because the sales calendar pulled Labor Day weekend activity into August, the automakers have said. That means the drop is likely temporary.

Excluding autos, gas and building supplies, sales rose 0.5% in September, up from 0.2% in August and the same as July's figure. Economists exclude those categories to get a better sense of consumer demand.